Crime and Passion
by worddancer
Summary: A/U Puckelberry, Rachel and Noah are New York cops who've been assigned undercover with each other. no one knows anyone before the story starts. better summary inside give it a shot
1. Chapter 1

**A/n i told myself again and again I will not start a new story, i will not start a new story and do I listen. no. so even though I'm also working on two other stories here, my original novel plus working plus uni files i typed this up. as of now ** **my other stories and finals are my top priorities but depending on response to this idea that wiggled into my brain priorities can be rearranged. Now some back story, the glee club is all ages 22-29, this is an AU story where Rachel Berry NYPD Detective has to work with Detective Noah Puckermen in an undercover situation. personalities are kept the same and the rest of that is explained in the story. none of the gleeks know each other yet. this is an eventual puckleberry but I hate not having the back story of the relationship. some smut may happen not sure yet. this is a T rated story. so read review and let me know what you think!**

**P.S. I don't own this otherwise Mark Salling would be in my bed in more ways than just my dreams... so would Lea Michele just saying...**

Chapter 1

Rachel Berry was tough and ambitious. Those two qualities combined with her own personal brand of stubbornness and natural tendency to be right all the time allowed her to climb to the top of her class in the police academy. The fact that she was good allowed her to become one of the two youngest detectives at the NYPD 10th prescient. Currently stationed at the organized crime unite the twenty-three year old detectives already had a more than impressive resume. Rachel Berry lived, ate and breathed the police force. Monday morning had her regretting all of the above.

"You want me to what?" She questioned the captain sitting across the desk from her.

"Look Berry it says right here in your high school and childhood activities section of your file that you took singing, dance and acting classes all through high school and were in your schools show choir which went to nationals three times. Your one of three other people who has a shot at getting into this thing. You even started out as an acting major and NYU."

"That was years ago Captain! Things change." Rachel stated bluntly. She didn't care to recall the memories that caused her to throw away her acting dreams and become a cop. She never regretted her choice, not once in her three years on the force.

"Well change them back Berry. We've been after this guy for over a year. This is our best shot." The captain barked.

Rachel continued to glare at the man in front of her. Captain Charlie Holtz sighed before speaking again, this was not his first time at the receiving end of Rachel's anger and he strongly doubted it would be the last.

"It's not even a guarantee you'll get in. You just have to try out. We'll also have a male officer try out and if one or both of you gets in you'll be assigned as partners for the case. You'll keep your same name you'll just move apartments for the duration of the case."

Rachel continued to glower at her boss for a few more moments before answering. "Fine, what's my cover?"

The captain pulled a vanilla folder closer to him from across his desk. "Rachel Alyssa Berry, your middle name was changed to make it harder to trace you back here should anyone try, twenty-three years old. Graduate of NYU, with your major in vocals and minor in acting. You lived in Chicago for a year before moving back to New York to try and make it on the stage. High school you went to, parent information all of that is the same. It's an easy cover Berry, should be pretty easy to sell. Auditions are next week Monday; I suggest you brush up on your show tunes."

Rachel grabbed the folder out of his hand before turning on her heel and stomping out of the office. Back at her desk she slammed the folder down and called her dads to see if they wanted to help her move that weekend.

Across the city in New York's 8th prescient homicide detective Noah Puckermen was holding a shockingly similar conversation with his own captain.

"Dude? A musical?" Puck, as he preferred to be called asked his captain.

"Yep." The captain relaxed back in his chair as the twenty seven year old detective chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Captain you do realize this is so going to ruin my reputation?" The captain looked at the detective in front of him closely, if the rumors that made the way to his desk were anything to go by it would take a hell of a lot more than one musical as an undercover gig to ruin said reputation.

"You'll be fine son." Captain Brandon Mudge never had been a man of many words. This was no exception. "You'll be Noah Puckermen still; you lived out in Nashville for several years after high school before moving out here to try your luck in the big apple. This will hopefully be your big break."

"What am I looking for Cap? I'm a homicide cop, what am I going to find in a theater?"

"There's been three deaths connected to this case, it's now interdepartmental. You're the only homicide cop with any musical background. Says here you did show choir back in high school, didn't perform to badly either."

"Well captain I only did it for this one girl." Puck informed him.

"That's a good thing. Your partner for the case is female."

Puck grinned, maybe this case wouldn't be too bad after all. After all, all he had to do is strum his guitar maybe sing a bit and dance around. Nothing too bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n so chapter two. i was majorly surprised- happily so- at the response I received from the first chapter. so please continue! just to clarify i dont own glee and none of the characters in the show (except maybe jesse and rachel) know each other yet. so read and review please**

**songs used are I'm a survivor by Reba and Lucy by Skillet amazing songs.**

Chapter 2

After finishing the small mountain of paper work taking an undercover assignment caused-i.e. delegating any other open cases she might have and other miscellaneous work- Rachel went back to her tiny one room efficacy apartment and began to pour over the file.

The New York City's Modern Acting Company recently had openings for both a male and female positions. Rachel had to admit she was impressed with the company. Not only was it one she had heard of and seen before but back when her dreams had been to be an actor it was one of the companies she looked into as a possibility. She even had gone to seen several of the companies shows. Admitably that was several years ago and she knew their actors had changed over recently. The current director William Schuester was one she had heard of and admired. He was a visionary director. Rachel dug in the back of her closet finding the old books of show tunes and sheet music she kept from her old performing days. She spread them across her desk looking for the perfect song to sing. None of the Broadway Musicals she once loved seemed to be right. That was from a different part of her life. Sighing and thrusting the sheet music aside she reached for the second box. She started flipping through the new music in front of her. An hour later she found the perfect piece. She smiled to herself, she had completely forgotten she owned this piece of music. She hadn't sang it sense her high school days. She walked over to the piano in the far corner of the room opposite of the area she dubbed the kitchen and kitty corner to the bed. Opening the music she ran through the once familiar set of vocal warm ups.

In his own slightly larger apartment Noah Puckermen sat in his living room strumming on his guitar. Damn the show choir he did in high school. Course he really couldn't complain to much he did get the girl that year. God she was hot. Red curly hair, breasts the size of grapefruits and a little dancers body she could twist in so many ways. Yep, no reason to regret that at all he smiled to himself at a particularly hot memory of Maggie O'Niel and her leg hooked over his shoulder as he drove into her. Singing and dancing had been deffinatly worth it. Turned out even he wasn't half that bad. He got a good portion of the solos and much to his own surprise he wasn't a bad dancer as long as someone showed him the steps first. Singing was even what managed to get him out of his one stop light no-name town. He'd gotten a partial music and football scholarship which sent him to New York where after a year of having no clue what he wanted to due he settled into law enforcement. And he was damn good at his job if he did say so himself. So to be perfectly honest he didn't mind this assignment as much as he might gripe about it ruining his rep. After all A) his rep was so BA nothing could ruin it and B) he kinda owed singing a lot. That didn't mean he wasn't gonna chose a totally bad ass song for his audition, he had to get the part and not look like a pansy after all.

He flipped through some of his old rock albums looking for something that was bad ass enough to make him look good yet touchy feely enough to get to what ever artsy director he had to impress. He had flipped through the file at the office earlier so he had a few ideas about what he wanted to sing. He plopped in the CD that he held in his hands and started the work of stripping the already simple sound down to just a guitar and his voice.

A week later at the ungodly hour of eight am Noah at in the theater with about twenty other hopefuls. He'd sell his left nut before he admitted he was nervous. He used the fact that this case could make his career as an excuse for. The audtion was evenly mixed between men and women. Noah found himself scanning the female half of the crowd wondering which girl was his potential partner. The higher up's decided to refrain from sharing that until after the audtions. That way if only one got in the other could pretend to be the girlfriend or boyfriend. If they both got in they could say they met at the audition. The other week Puck had moved into a low rent apartment that a bunch of the areas theater folks called home, all part of his cover story. He knew his partner would be moving in sometime soon or already had, he wasn't sure.

The first name was called and a young girl, she couldn't be older than nineteen, sang a rather poorly done version of RENT's Out Tonight. After her another woman did a fairly decent performance of Kelly Clarksons Break Away.

After the first two girls Puck began to tune them out and focused on his own song, he wanted to nail it. Puck came out of his concentration when the director came back on the stage and said "Ok, our final female performer is Rachel Berry, Rachel, you here?"

Pucks head jerked up. Where did he know that name? Ah shit! His friend James did a case with another precients organized crime unit and told him all about an annoying tiny bombshell of a dectective. He took a good look at the women climbing on the stage. She was dressed in a skirt barely the width of a headband and wore what the gals he worked with would describe as sensible heels. There was nothing sensible about them. They were at least three inches tall. Plus she didn't look old enough to be on the force, hell the kid that went first looked older than her.

Rachel stepped on to the stage and took the mike from the director. She nodded to the sound booth to start playing the instrumental CD she brought with her. She closed her eyes as the familiar chords washed over her.

_I was born 3 months too early__  
><em>_The doctor gave me 30 days__  
><em>_But I must have had my mama's will__  
><em>_And God's amazing grace__  
><em>_I guess I'll keep on livin__  
><em>_Even if this love's to die for__  
><em>_Cuz your bags are packed__  
><em>_And I ain't cryin__  
><em>_Your walkin out and I'm not tryin__  
><em>_To change your mind__  
><em>_Cuz I was born to be_

Rachel ignored how good it felt to be on a stage again. That was her past. This case was her future. Instead she put on her best acting smile and belted out the lyrics with all she had.

_The baby girl without a chance__  
><em>_A victim of circumstance__  
><em>_The one who oughta give up__  
><em>_But she's just too hard headed__  
><em>_A single mom__  
><em>_Who works 2 jobs__  
><em>_Who loves her kids and never stops__  
><em>_With gentle hands__  
><em>_And the heart of a fighter__  
><em>_I'm a survivor__  
><em>

For the second verse Rachel looked directly out on the stage and started walking forward punctuating each word with a step.

_I don't believe in self pity__  
><em>_It only brings you down__  
><em>_May be the queen of broken hearts__  
><em>_But I don't hide behind the crown__  
><em>_When the deck is stacked against me__  
><em>_I just play a different game__  
><em>_My roots are planted in the past__  
><em>_And though my life is changing fast__  
><em>_Who I am is who I wanna be_

_The baby girl without a chance__  
><em>_A victim of circumstance__  
><em>_The one who oughta give up__  
><em>_But she's just too hard headed__  
><em>_A single mom__  
><em>_Who works 2 jobs__  
><em>_Who loves her kids and never stops__  
><em>_With gentle hands__  
><em>_And the heart of a fighter__  
><em>_I'm a survivor_

_Oh a single mom__  
><em>_Who works 2 jobs__  
><em>_Who loves her kids and never stops__  
><em>_With gentle hands__  
><em>_And the heart of a fighter__  
><em>_I'm a survivor_

_But I must have had my mama's will__  
><em>_And God's amazing grace__  
><em>_(I'm a survivor)__  
><em>

She belted out the last note with everything she had satisfied she nailed the song. She bowed to the slight applause and handed the director the mike back before going to her seat. She paid close attention to the male performers. Several of them were quite good but one stood out better than the others for her.

The man took an old wooden stool and set it in the center of the stage putting on his guitar. He was quite physically attractive, slightly tanned skin and very muscled broad shoulders. Yes he was very attractive.

He began to strum a rock sounding song from his guitar before starting to sing.

_Hey Lucy, I remember your name__  
><em>_I left a dozen roses on your grave today__  
><em>_I'm in the grass on my knees,__  
><em>_wipe the leaves away__  
><em>_I just came to talk for a while__  
><em>_I got some things I need to say_

He sang quietly but strongly his fingers flirting over the guitar strings. 

_Now that it's over__  
><em>_I just wanna hold her__  
><em>_I'd give up all the world to__  
><em>_see that little piece of__  
><em>_heaven looking__  
><em>_back at me__  
><em>_Now that it's over__  
><em>_I just wanna hold her__  
><em>_I've gotta live with the choices I made__  
><em>_And I can't live with myself today__  
><em>

He would look up every now and then but for the most part he kept his head bent down over the guitar appearing to sing to someone not in the room as if his words would fly to her.

_Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday__  
><em>_They said it'd bring some__  
><em>_closure to say your name__  
><em>_I know I'd do it all different__  
><em>_if I had the chance__  
><em>_But all I got are these roses to give__  
><em>_And they can't help me make amends_

_Here we are__  
><em>_Now you're in my arms__  
><em>_I never wanted anything so bad__  
><em>_Here we are__  
><em>_For a brand new start__  
><em>_Living the life that we could've had_

_Me and Lucy walking hand in hand__  
><em>_Me and Lucy never wanna end__  
><em>_Just another moment in your eyes__  
><em>_I'll see you in another life__  
><em>_In heaven where we never say goodbye_

_Here we are, now you're in my arms__  
><em>_Here we are for a brand new start__  
><em>_Got to live with the choices I've made__  
><em>_And I can't live with myself today_

_Me and Lucy walking hand in hand__  
><em>_Me and Lucy never wanna end__  
><em>_Got to live with the choices I've made__  
><em>_And I can't live with myself today_

_Hey Lucy, I remember your name_

After he sang the auditon when fairly quickly for Puck. He knew he rocked his song and the dancing and line reading they did went well to. Now all he had to do was wait to see if he was in and finally meet his partner. He hung around after the audition while chatting with a few of the other people there. He than went home to pour himself a cold beer and wait.

Rachel to went home right after the audition. Pouring over the case file once again she tried to connect any dots that would make this trip back into the world of music and theater any shorter. After all she was Rachel Berry, if there was a way she'd find it.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n again wow I've had a great response to this story. I'm watching the Buffy the Vampire slayer episode with the Gentlemen where its the silent ep and can i say creepiest ep ever! I love it. on a side note if you feel you must flame me do not put it anonymous flames. that's rude. i can take all the constructive correction or criticism you want to give me but for the good Lords sake allow me to defend myself to you. Kind corrections on spelling and grammar are always appreciated. my spell check was trying to tell me to spell in Spanish, (I'm bilingual and needed the spell check to be in Spanish) back to my point flames of the anonymous sort shall be deleted. all signed flames shall be responded to and left up. flames on grammatical issues quite frankly just annoy me, about plots however different story. thats about it. this chapter just finished setting the stage so enjoy and review.**

Chapter Three

A few days after the auditions Noah sat in his living room drinking a beer while watching a basketball game. It was more for something to do than any particular commitment to a certain team. His case files for the case he was on as well as a case a friend asked him to take a look at lay haphazardly around the floor and coffee table. The chief called and messengered him over Berry's file. She had an impressive record for such a young cop. Five major case arrests with several major case assists plus a large number of smaller cases and partnerships with vice and various other departments that lead to arrests, no doubt in Puck's mind this girl had what it took. To be a cop that was. Her file didn't say much about her personal history. Just that she grew up with two gay dads in a small Minnesotan town. Finished damn near close to the top of her grade in high school moved to New York to start at NYU. Noah knew she started as a theater major but in her sophomore year suddenly switched to become a cop. As she already finished her generals she was able to bypass the first year of academy and become a cop at twenty. Noah had to wonder what made someone make that drastic of a change. By twenty one she was promoted to detective and now at almost twenty four she was gaining a decent reputation. Undercover opps seemed to be her thing even; two out of her five major cases had been short undercover opps. Noah Puckermen licked his lips at the thought of what someone with that much drive and apparent passion would do in the sack.

Up the stairs and directly above his ceiling Rachel Berry settled into her own apartment. She poured herself a glass of wine and made herself a salad before making her way to the tiny office barely big enough to fit her desk with its file folders and laptop with plug ins. Setting her glass of wine on the desk, far enough from the corner it wouldn't be knocked over and on to the carpet Rachel opened her laptop and brought up the file her captain emailed her about her partner. The guy at the audition who did the Skillet cover. She clicked the education/profile tab on the computerized file.

Noah Puckermen  
>Age: 27<br>Height: 5 feet, 11 inches  
>Ethnicity: Jewish American<br>Education: Lima Community Technical College- Police Academy  
>High School: Lima High School<br>Academy and Personal History: Mr. Noah Puckermen grew up in Lima Ohio with mother and younger sister, father not present. Entered the Police Academy in Lima after high school graduation, graduated upper half of his class. Became a member of the Lima Police Force, worked in Lima for three years until the age of twenty three became a detective at twenty three also. At twenty three Puckermen worked on a joint drug operation with New York NYPD. Moved to New York at the age of twenty four. Became a member of the NYPD. Assigned to homicide.

After reading through his arrest record, both in Ohio and in New York Rachel was impressed. She closed his personnel file and opened the case file. She sipped her glass of wine and waited for the theater to call. Director Shuester promised to inform the auditioners of call backs and casts placements a few days after the auditions. Once she knew if she received the part or not she would go meet her partner. If she had to be honest with herself, and in most other cases she was, she was doing everything she could to delay starting this case. Several times during her audition she considered missing a note or tripping on a dance step or fumbling a line during the script readings. In the end her dedication to her job won over her utter desperation to not go back on stage. Even now she was torn between wanting the part and praying to God she wasn't chosen. She was in the middle of typing notes off the files she read when her cell phone rang.

"Hello, Rachel Berry's phone." She still had to pause not to answer "Detective Berry" she hoped that her new greeting didn't become second nature. Detective Berry was who she had been for the past three years, she barely knew Rachel anymore.

"Rachel, this is Will from the New York Modern Acting Company, is this a good time?"

"Um, yes it's a great time. Hello Will, how are you this evening." She responded almost knocking her wine glass over.

"I'm doing great. Now there won't be any call backs for the female and male openings."

"Oh," Rachel said, still fighting the inner battle between dedication to the badge and her really really not wanting to have to get back up on that stage.

"Don't worry Rachel," Will said, misunderstanding the tone of her voice, "You are our new female actress. Your first practice is Monday. Sense you're a new member we'd like you to prepare a song that showcases a bit of where you are in your life or tells us a bit about yourself."

"Oh," Rachel said again, for one of few times in her life not quite sure what to say, she knew she should sound excited, she needed to find Rachel again, "well I'm sure that is perfectly acceptable, I'm positive I can find a suitable piece from my rather immense repituoar. If I may ask who received the male acting position?"

"Of course, in fact I'm calling him next. Noah Puckermen, he sang the Skillet cover. Great song." Will said excitedly, "In fact it says here that he lives in the same building you do. Maybe you both could work out a duet along with your solos for Monday, let the others see your voices blend."

"Oh, I'm sure that would be wonderful. I'll have to go introduce myself. Do you know by chance what apartment he's in?" Rachel asked glad to be given the perfect excuse to visit her neighbor/partner.

"Apartment 2A. Well can't wait to see you all on Monday."

Rachel said her goodbyes and hung up her cell phone. She glanced over at her clock and saw it was nine o' clock. She rolled her eyes, trust directors to forget common curtosy such as when is it a good time to make a call. Deciding it was too late to go introduce herself to her partner tonight she turned back to her work.

Down in apartment 2A Noah hung up the phone with his new director. He smiled to himself, he got the roll all he had to do now was solve the case and hopefully get laid. Oh and perform a solo and duet on Monday.

Eh, he decided, there was plenty of time tomorrow. For now he had a game on and a cold beer in his hand it was good enough for now.


	4. Chapter 4

**a'n well i'm taking my first final tomorrow and this is the result of my study breaks. any songs you think would fit this story or would like to see in it, drop me a line. also I need a vote. I know (mostly) what I'm doing with all of the Glee kids, except Finn, I have two options, make him Pucks friend on the force who is helping with this case but not as much as Puck or as a member of the theater company cast. so please give me your opinion.**

Chapter 4

The next morning Rachel knocked on Noah's door at seven am. Noah only reported to work before ten when he had a major homicide or a good lead, anything else could wait until after ten. More than once he made a suspect wait more than an hour and a half because there was no chance in hell he was getting up early so some idiot could try to sell him their latest sob story of how they couldn't help but stab, shoot, strangle or whatever foul thing humans figured out to do to each other, that made the poor sucker on the morgue slab deserve what happened. Hell sometimes Puck even thought they did deserve it. That wasn't his choice to make however. He just did his job and did it well. He had been a bit of a bully in high school, typical bully, pissed at the world with a chip on his shoulder. College with glee club before that straightened him out. Becoming a cop was the best thing he'd ever done. Every cop had a story. Some just darker than others.

But back to the insane pounding that woke him up. He stumbled down his hall and to his door. He muttered something about not buying anything hoping that would deter any early morning callers. The knocking only became more persistent. He wrenched open the door to find his new partner standing in the hall looking more perky and put together than anyone had a right to for a Saturday morning. He stared at her bleary eyed, she was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, cute ballet flats and her hair draped over her shoulder in a braid falling on a blouse that made him think of the school girl porno he had in his old apartment. Note to self he thought go find that DVD. Looking at his partner all he could think of was what the hell have I gotten into.

"What the hell Berry? It's seven am." He drawled out, sleep coated heavy in his words.

"I can read a clock Puckerman. We have to decide what the hell we're going to sing Monday and how we're going to solve this case quickly and painlessly." Berry snapped back pushing her way past him into the apartment. She walked straight to the living room, crinkling her nose in disgust at the old pizza box, empty six pack case, files and notes that littered the coffee table and floor. Casting the mess one final glance of disgust she turned back to Puck completely ignoring the fact he was clad only in boxers.

"What are your ideas?" She demanded.

"My ideas for what?" He asked still not completely following the conversation, even if it was mostly one sided.

"The duet we have to sing. We need a song that will showcase our abilities without sending any subtle, un-wanted messages. Not to mention, again, solving this case. Are the cast members involved? The director? Who's the third party in this?" Rachel replied. He could hear the annoyance she was trying to keep out of her voice. Puck merely blinked at her a few times.

"Look, Berry, it's seven. In the morning," he repeated to make sure she understood him, "Do we have to do this now?"

Rachel just looked at him. The only words he could think of to describe her face was that it was the same face his mother used to give him that said 'duh you dumb ass, I know you're at least a bit smarter than this.' He didn't like this look on his mother any more than he liked it on his partner.

"Ugh," he sighed, "let me at least put some God damn pants on."

Rachel nodded at him before picking an old paper plate off the couch gingerly with two fingers. She flicked it into the mess on the floor and carefully sat down.

Saturday morning Rachel woke up at her usual time of six am and went for a forty five minute run. She managed to get showered and dressed in fifteen minutes and by seven she was knocking on her partner's door. She clutched a list of songs and music ideas in her hand. There was no chance in her mind of the two of them getting on any stage without being properly prepared.

She knocked on his door softly at first not wanting to seem rude. When she didn't receive an answer in a timely manner she knocked a tad bit more loudly. Still receiving no answer she disregarded the forms of what society would consider polite engagement and pounded on the door with as much force as she could manage. She pounded for so long she started to wonder if she'd have to break the door down to see if he was alright. She paused for a moment and heard slight the bumping and banging of someone stumbling down a narrow hallway. She stopped her knocking and pressed her ear to the door staining to hear something.

"Not buying anything. Sleeping. Go away." A muttered voice came from the other side.

Rachel sighed from her position at the door. She raised her fist and knocked harder yet. The door was wretched open and a very naked male chest was thrust at her eye level. She glanced down to see an equally naked pair of legs. A pair of boxers is all that covered his intimate parts. She blushed slightly before rearranging her face to a natural expression. This is your new partner she reminded herself.

"What the hell Berry? It's seven am." A bleary tired Noah Puckerman said to her. He gave her what she considered to be his partnered what the hell look.

"I can read a clock. We have to decide what the hell we're going to sing on Monday and how we're going to solve this case quickly and painlessly." She told him, waiting for an answer. When none came quick enough for her liking she stalked into his apartment. She looked distastefully at the mess that screamed 'I'm a bachelor and I live by myself and don't give a damn'.

Turning away from the disgusting pigsty she asked, "What are your ideas?"

Her partner looked dumbly at her, still trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Rachel barely contained an eye roll, she had no patience. She ran solo most of the time because she hated having someone lagging behind her. She only partnered on interdepartmental cases or on cases where it was impossible to avoid. All of those she solved them quickly and efficiently interacting with her assigned partner on a strictly business level. It was better that way. She worked better alone, having a partner was just another thing on her long, long list of why she wanted this case done.

"My ideas for what?" said partners voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"The duet we have to sing. We need a song that will showcase our abilities without sending any subtle, un-wanted messages. Not to mention, again, solving this case. Are the cast members involved? The director? Who's the third party in this?" she managed to contain most of the annoyance from her voice but some still slipped through. The chief said this guy was good at his job but aside from the singing she had yet to see any stellar performances.

"Berry, its seven in the morning? Do we have to do this now?" He repeated the time, not increasing her confidence of their- to be short lived- partnership. Not bothering to answer she just glared at him. Her glare had gotten her many things over the years both on and off the force. To her it said 'do I look like I'm joking now just do things my way and life will go much easier.' Noah met her look for look for a moment before turning away.

"Let me put some God damn pants on." He growled before turning toward his bedroom. Rachel sat down gently on the couch after moving the more obvious hygiene dangers.

Three hours later and one beer for Noah they had managed to find a song that both deemed acceptable. They were now re hashing details they had hashed separately.

"It can't be the director, he's been followed. He doesn't have the connections." Noah stated looking at the files.

"He might be completely clueless in helping the ring but still helping. He does a lot of charity events. All New York's rich and dirty like to rub elbows at those. The company is extremely reputable." Rachel countered.

"What about the actors?" Noah mentioned pulling up a new stack to files.

"I think we can eliminate some of them, the main dancer doesn't seem bright enough to be too deeply involved. Maybe another unknowing player. What about her?" Rachel asked as she pointed to a picture in one of the files.

"I've already flagged her." Noah replied.

"What I want to know," Rachel said, "is how the hell their exchanging the drugs, girls and whatever the hell else they're using to turn a buck. We know the theater is involved some how but no idea how."

"Well all players are heavily connected. All of the bodies connected to this are profession hits. And professional, professional at that, no signature. All killed in the same way. A quick knife across the throat. Whatever was the reason they were killed they're not using the bodies to send any messages." Noah said, frustration turning his voice hard.

Rachel finally left the apartment at three in the afternoon without being any closer to any answers that she had been before. Sitting in her own pristine apartment she began to look for a song she could sing for the first rehearsal. She denied the slight thrill she got with every ounce of her body.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n ok so dont expect chapters to always be this long. My plan for up dates are every three to four days per story but that is a goal alone. for sure each of my stories will be updated once per week. I can do this because I'M DONE WITH FINALS! end major excitement. please review I like knowing what people think. enjoy**

**songs are "You Cant Stop the Beat" and "Ladies Choice" from Hairspray and "Who Said You Cant Go Home" Bon Jovi and Surgarland. **

Chapter 5

Rachel spent multiply hours working on her song selection. She had to be careful about what she chose, she had to use a song that was true enough to where she could sell it but nothing that screamed hey I'm not who I say I am. Any songs revolving around illusions or lies or deception were automatically out. Finally she went to her Broadway box to find a showy song. After several hours of looking through music she finally found a song she thought fit. She practiced and reworked it for hours. She admitted she was more than a bit compulsive about this. However, it felt nice to be working on something. They had no new information on the case. The detective pair met several other times over the weekend, going over their song and the case. Even after a solid year of investigating this case the only information they had was that the players were rich, connected and ruthless. A few of New York's rich and famous, the ones with not to solid morals, were flagged as possibles but that was it. The only solid lead they had was the theater was involved. Rachel was ready to beat her head out of frustration. Instead of doing that she put it all into the damn song she had to perform.

Monday morning came a hell of a lot quicker than Puck would have liked. Berry had been riding him all weekend and he now understood how she became a detective years before most did. He had gotten lucky on a case and ended up getting promoted at twenty three. Berry was twenty three, almost twenty four, and she had gotten her promotion for having the stubbornness and determination of a freaking pit bull. Admittedly a pretty hot pit bull with legs that seemed to go on and on and on but a pit bull none the less. They were gonna rock their song together and it was all because of Berry. He'd be lying if he said he didn't think it was a bit more than sexy but he wasn't about to climb in the sack with his new partner. At least not yet. Sex made things messy, interesting but messy and he figured Berry wouldn't be a wham bam thank you ma'am type at all. At least not while they had to work together. Again afterwards… who knew. Either way while on this case he planned on having a little fun with it which to him was said perfectly with his song choice, nothing to give him away but plenty to make his point.

Will told them to come to the theater a little early so he could give them the tour before getting down to business. So nine in the morning had the pair sitting side by side on the stage waiting for the director. Rachel looked as fresh and put together as she had every other time Puck had seen her. He just had on loose sweats. Both of them brought costumes for their songs upon Wills request.

"Hey guys," The ten minuet late director called as he rushed down the theater aisle, "Glad you here. Let's get started!"

A quick tour of the theater showed decent sized dressing rooms although no private ones. Will was a real humanitarian type so a good portion of the show's the company put on were charity shows. The cast pay was decent and the rest of the money went to costumes and set. The theater was largeish but the tour still only took thirty minutes.

"So here's how I think things are going to go today, Rachel you can sing your song for us first and maybe say a bit about of yourself and after that you can do the same Puck that Rachel can rejoin you on stage for your duet performance. After that you guys can be introduced to the rest of the cast. They're a good group I think you'll fit in well." Will explained. The pair agreed with the plan and went down to change into the costumes they would wear when the introduced themselves to the cast.

By ten fifteen the entire cast gathered in the front two rows of the theater. Rachel and Noah stood in the back of the theater. The main curtains were pulled for now.

"Hey guys," Will called out to the cast, "I found our new male and female cast members. They each prepared a solo to introduce themselves and a duet so we can hear how their voices blend. Let's give both Rachel and Puck a warm welcome."

Rachel walked on stage and took her place at the top of the stairs placed in the center back of the stage and were used in the set. She nodded to the band and they started her music as the curtain lifted. Puck nearly laughed out loud when he recognized the song she chose.

On the stage Rachel started to bob her hip to the music facing away from the audience. The pleated school girl style skirt she choose for her costume twitched attractively in a way that made Pucks mind wander to places where it shouldn't belong, the tight fitting button down top she wore didn't help any either. A beat before her cue to sing she spun around, making Puck appreciate the pleats in her skirt so much more.

As she started to sing Rachel strutted down the stairs letting her skirt twitch side to side while pointing at the cast.

_You can't stop an avalanche__  
><em>_As it races down the hill_

She paused on the stairs and threw her right hand in the air and then trailed it down while shimming her body.  
><em><br>__You can try to stop the seasons, girl__  
><em>_But ya know you never will__  
><em>_And you can try to stop my dancin' feet_

She hit the bottom of the stairs and planted her feet soundly on the stage but her body never stopped moving._  
><em>_But I just cannot stand still__  
><em>_Cause the world keeps spinnin'__  
><em>_Round and round_

She spun to the music obviously having a bit of fun with the song just dancing freely on stage._  
><em>_And my heart's keeping time__  
><em>_To the speed of sound__  
><em>_I was lost till I heard the drums__  
><em>_Then I found my way_

_Cause you can't stop the beat__  
><em>_Ever since this old world began__  
><em>_A woman found out if she shook it__  
><em>_She could shake up a man__  
><em>_And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it__  
><em>_The best that i can today_

Damn, Puck thought, any woman who could shake it like that would indeed shake up a man. 

_'Cause you can't stop__  
><em>_The motion of the ocean__  
><em>_Or the sun in the sky__  
><em>_You can wonder if you wanna__  
><em>_But i never ask why_

_And if you try to hold me down__  
><em>_I'm gonna spit in your eye and say__  
><em>_That you can't stop the beat!_

Rachel gave the song what Puck was finding to be her trade mark big finish. The cast liked it as much as he did, all of them clapping appreciatively. Rachel bowed and walked off stage. Meeting Puck in the wings she whispered in his ear.

"Top that." She challenged. Puck smiled. He liked seeing his partner had some spunk in her and he never had been one to refuse a challenge.

Grabbing the mike stand that he would use to double as a prop he took the stage. Like Rachel he started with his back to the crowd. He wore black suit pants with a white suit jacket complete with tails. His black dress shirt was open fairly far down his chest and he knew he looked hot. Doing a Michal Jackson style spin he started to sing the lyrics.

_Hey little girl with the cash to burn__  
><em>_I'm sellin' something you won't return__  
><em>_Hey little girl take me off the shelf__  
><em>_'Cause it's hard having fun playing with yourself__  
><em>_Once you've browsed through the whole selection__  
><em>_Shake your hips in my direction_

He swung the mike and stand from one hand to the other flashing a devil-may-care smirk to the cast in the seats.  
><em><br>__A prettier package you never did see__  
><em>_Take me home then unwrap me_

He flapped open the sides of his jacket, causing his dress shirt to open at the collar also- showing a good portion of his hard and tanned chest to the ladies of the cast. _  
><em>_  
>Shop around little darlin' I've got to be<em>_  
><em>_The Ladies' Choice, Ladies' Choice_

_Hey little girl lookin' for a sale__  
><em>_Test drive this American male__  
><em>_It's gonna take cash to fill my tank__  
><em>_So let's crack open your piggy bank__  
><em>_Hey little girl going window shopping__  
><em>_I got something traffic stopping_

At the words traffic stopping he turned to the side and froze before spinning again to face the front and continuing to sing.

_Hey, little girl on a spending spree__  
><em>_I don't come cheap but the kisses come free__  
><em>_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree__  
><em>_I'm the Ladies' Choice, (Ladies' Choice), Ladies' Choice_

_Hey, little girl on a spending spree__  
><em>_I don't come cheap but the kisses come free__  
><em>_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree_

Diving forward on to his knees and sliding down the stage Puck sand the last bit of his song at the end of the stage.

_Hey little girl, listen to my plea__  
><em>_I come with a lifetime guarantee__  
><em>_And one day maybe we'll find that baby makes three__  
><em>_It's the Ladies' Choice__  
><em>_I'm the Ladies' Choice__  
><em>_The Ladies' Choice__  
><em>_I'm the Ladies' Choice choice choice__  
><em>_I'm the Ladies' Choice_

enjoying the applause he received from his own song he waited for Rachel to come on stage again so they could do their duet of Sugarland and Bon Jovi's song "Who Said You Can't Go Home". As they left the stage Rachel turned to him.

"I didn't think you'd know musicals." She casually commented, laughing to herself on how they picked songs from the same musical.

"I don't. The guys and I in my old glee club did the song for nationals my Sr. year. We had fun with it and I didn't have to come up with anything new for today if I used it." Puck answered.

"Besides, we both know it's true, I am the ladies choice." He added with his trademark smirk.

"Great job guys!" Will said as they joined the rest of the cast in the seats, "You're both going to be a great addition to our team. Speaking of which lets get to introductions. Guys take it away."

"Well I'm Santana, I do acting and singing" a pretty Latina girl said from the left of Puck. Her body language screamed "I'm a bitch and I know it so deal". She looked to be around Rachel's age.

"I'm her girlfriend Brittney. I like to dance." Said the blonde girl next to her. She was pretty also with a deffinate dancers body, she sat with one leg propped on the seat in front of her with the other foot resting on the arm rest beside her.

"Hey, I'm Artie. I do sound and lighting with occasional back up vocals on any sound tracks we need." The guy in the wheelchair spoke up.

"I'm Tina, acting and singing also. This is my boyfriend Mike, he choreographs and dances like Brittney and does chorus singing." The goth looking Asian said, gesturing to the Asian man beside her. Rachel thought she looked a bit sexy with bright purple highlights sticking out against her black hair and had no problem admitting her boyfriend was just yummy.

"I'm Kurt," a very fashionably dressed man spoke up, "I consider myself one of the ladies here. My boyfriend Blaine and I are both actors and singers." The handsome man on his left waved his hand in the air.

"I'm Matt, I mostly sing and dance. I'm not big on the speaking of lines thing these guys do." A cute African-American man said earning a slight laugh from the rest of the crew.

"I'm Mercedes, resident Diva along with Kurt. I bring the soul to this joint." A large curvaceous African-American girl spoke up.

"I'm Dave. I'm mostly here for the food." A muscled man joked.

"I'm Quinn, actress and singer. This is my daughter, Beth." A little girl of about five sat in her mother's lap dozing quietly. Quinn couldn't be older than Rachel.

"Will," Quinn said before the rest of the cast could introduce themselves, "I'm going to go put her down for her nap. Play pen is still in the dressing room right? The janitors didn't move it again."

"Nope." Will answered, "Go ahead Quinn, the monitors are down there next to the play pen."

The rest of the twenty membered cast who only worked as chorus part time quickly introduced themselves. When Quinn came upstairs again Will called the attention back up to the stage.

"Ok guys so our next gig is- drum roll please- a charity ball hosted by the mayor. Now it's a paying gig sense we're low on funds again but we'll be performing at the show by doing a meleody of Broadway songs. The event is for raising money for arts in schools." he said excitedly. "I already got an idea for cast placements and songs and sense it is a smaller show we won't need the part time folks for all of it. maybe just a song or two. Now main crew and a few of you part time folks if you have any ideas or something you want to perform let me know. For now let's start working on Chicago's Cell Block Tango. Umm, Rachel partner with Puck for now I want to see how you both dance before I pair you off. Britney you're with Dave, Tina and Blaine, Santana and Mike, Matt and Mercedes and Quinn you're going to be with Kurt. I might switch these up later. So for those name's I just said hit the stage. Rest of you can head on home I'll give you a call if we need you."

Five minutes later the theater was empty but for Artie working on the sound system and lighting, the band and the twelve actors on stage with their director. After stretching Will sent Mike to start working out some choreography with the boys and the girls to start on the vocals and lyrics. The group split up and got to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n I deeply say sorry for teh time it took to get this. one of my other stories distracted me. I'm shocked and flattered by how many alerts i've gotten for this story. please keep reading and I'd love reviews also :)**

Chapter 6

"So how often does Will do charity events?" Rachel asked Brittney as they walked back to the stage to start working on the basics of the choreography that Mike started to work on.

"Oh yeah." The blonde said cheerfully, "He likes helping people. He even helped me set up a camera in my apartment so I can watch Sir Tibbles, my cat. I know he talks when I'm not there I just haven't caught him doing it yet. But I know he's having an affair with the cute black kitty next door."

Rachel stared at the blonde as she skipped her way on to the stage to have Mike show her what he had for dance moves.

"Don't worry about Britt." Rachel turned to look at the beautiful Latina girl, "She's super sweet and doesn't have a mean bone in her body but she's not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. She's still convinced Lebanese means lesbian."

Rachel arched her eyebrow at Santana.

"We've been together sense high school our sr. year. We were messing around before that. But she had a boyfriend our jr. year and well my policy for saying no to boys was to not say it. Gay self hate thing going on big time. For an English class we read the book _Please Stop Laughing at Me _after reading it our teacher wanted us to wear shirts that said one thing we were born with that we were uneasy or uncomfortable or didn't like about ourselves. She gave me a shirt that said Lebanese."

Rachel laughed at the story smiling at the blonde's good intentions, "So I'll ask you also. Does Will do a lot of charity events?"

The Latina rolled her eyes, "yeah he does. We mostly perform a major show in the winter and then we do charity events until August before we start rehearsals for our next major show. Some of the events are paying gigs some aren't. Wills a bleeding heart. But hey as long as I get my check in the mail I'm good." With that Santana sashayed out to join her girl friend wrapping her into a close hug, while whispering something into her ear.

Rachel filed that information away and joined the rest of the cast members on stage.

"Ok I'm going to give you girls your parts quickly after watching you work through what Mike and Brittney worked out. So guys take it away."

For the next hour the group learned the basic tango steps the two dancers wanted to use and than practiced.

"Ok guys I think I got it. Now as you know and as I know there are only five couples in Cell Block Tango. But I need two girls for the one dance and I want an extra guy just in case. Kurt? Are you willing to be our extra?" Kurt nodded to the director not having a problem sitting this one out. The tango wasn't his strong point. Will smiled at him and continued speaking "Now here is how I want the couples to go…"

"I have an idea," Rachel said to Noah as they danced together. Will decided that they would be the _Squish_ duo. The pairs and one trio were all spread out on the stage to practice the basics of the group choreography they would do during the song. Rachel followed Britney's commands and kicked her leg up in a high kick and twisted her foot so she was facing Noah. He put his arm around her waist and walked forward as she walked back.

"For the case?" He asked quietly careful to not be over heard. He spun Rachel out and pulled her back in so her back was pressed tightly against his chest.

"Come to my place after practice, I think we might have something. It's an idea I got from Brittney and Santana."

Several hours later after a long hard practice that mostly involved going over the same dance steps and vocals over and over again and then changing steps hundreds of times Rachel and Noah met in her apartment. For the first time sense they met Noah saw Rachel in casual sweat pants and a loose top with her hair piled in a messy bun. He still thought she looked just as sexy.

"So what's your bright idea?" He asked.

"Well we know the theater is connected and we already did financials of all the people in the cast to see if they could have had anything to do with it and we came up blank right?" She asked practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yeah…" he trailed off wondering why she was going over what they had gone over a million times.

"Well I just thought of something. The theater in reality mostly performs at charity stuff. Maybe Will is involved maybe not but what we haven't done is looked at the guest lists of all the charity events to find a common link. I called my captain on break and he emailed me the guest lists for all events from the past three years."

"How's this going to help us?" Puck asked.

"If the charity events play a part in this all of the members of the group will have to be there to plan. Aka the rich partners who are getting richer, from there we can look at them to find a common link among them to narrow it down even more. It's an advantageous plan I believe."

Noah mulled the plan over in his mind for a bit before answering, "I think you might be right Berry."

He followed her into the crammed office. For the next four hours they poured over computer files one by one. They finally compiled a list together of about fifty names who might be involved. Rachel sent the list over to her captain asking for a complete work of financials to be done on them and compared to the financials on the cast.

They sat down on Rachel's couch for a bit to take a break.

"You know I was thinking," Noah said, "With the potential for so many key players there should be a bigger trail of some kind. I mean even the drug cartels we have some sort of trail. Here there's nothing. I'm thinking dirty cop."

"I hate to admit to the possibility of you being correct but I must agree. Someone somewhere is covering up for someone." Rachel sighed sadly.

"I'll call my cap in the morning. See if he can do a little digging around quietly. If there's a dirty cop it's going to be that much harder to break into the circle. Evidence goes missing stuff like that." the idea of a dirty cop pissed Noah off. He loved the force and damn if he didn't hate it when someone acted like that- going against what they were supposed to do.

"Your right…" Rachel said with a far away look in her eyes, "Unless we give them a new dirty cop… but how could we arrange that?"

Noah smiled quickly, "I got an idea. Let me see if it pans out but if it does and if this information does I'll let ya know."

They talked about the case for a bit longer before Noah went back to his apartment. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed a number.

"Hey Hudson, wanna do a friend a favor. I'm working a bitch of a case and could use one…"


End file.
